St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-04
SANITY CITY DOINCS
THE rB1RoH CoULEE FIGHT.
Col. Grant Takes Exceptions to a
GarbIed Account.
TO the Editor Of the Globe.

TO the Editor of the Globe.
Having seen in the Pioneer Press OF
Sept. 1, a garbled report of my account
published in your paper Saturday, Aug.
q, of the expedition which left Fort
Ridgely, Mimi, Aug. 81, 1862, under my
command, for the purpose OF burylng
dead bodies, reScuing any fugitlves that
might be found, and make reconnolS-
sance, and in the same issue of the RI
Oneer Press what purportS to be the
Marshall, Adjt. Connolly and others.
in reading their several accounts, with
the editors remarks, one is almost led
to the conclusion that the Pioneer Press
has employed school boy as city editor
during school vacation. With Gen.
Sibley, l do not propose to have any
controversy, as l have for him
the highest respect, and l am certain
the plans of Gen. Sibley, as made and
carried out by him, proved in the result
that he was the right man in the right
place. In regard to Gen. Sibley' report
to Gov. Ramsey, Sept. /, 1862, in which
he says he ordered out Capt. Grant,
Capt. Anderson, a burial party, etc., all
under the command of Maj. Joseph r.
Brown, if this was true, | can only say
! was not told that j. r. Brown was in
command. Col. William Crooks, who
commanded my regiment, gave me de-
tailed instructions and told me that
Capt. Anderson and detail of twenty
men would report to me, and that j. Il.
Brown wished to go with my command
to see if he could hear if his family
were maSSacred or prisoners. During
the two days march and the two days
fight, Joseph r. Brown (who | then sup
posed was citiZen) never let me know
that he had any authority from Gen.
Sibley to take command, and the first l
heard of it was Sept.4, after we had been
relieved and had returned to Fort
Ridgeley. The reporter of the Pioneer
Press makes Gen. w. r. Marshal say
that Col. McPhail did perfectly right in
yetreating and sending back to Fort
Ridgeley for reinfOrcementS. Knowing
Gen. Marshall as do l believe if he
had been sent to our relief with three
companies of infantry and two cOmpa-
MES of mounted rangers, Capt. Mark
Hendricks battery of two guns, max
ing force of 800 men, with at least four
hours of daylight, he would have at
least made ali attempt to release lis, and
not have left my command that had al
ready fought this same body of Indians
sixteen hours, and had lost in killed
all of our horses. Gen. Marshall would
never have retreated as McPhail did
and left us to our fate. As to Adjt.
COnnely'S report l have but little
to say. If he amused himself
in firing blank cartridges, l have
full faith that the other
men of my command, changed my
orders, Whitfield down the balls to the
side of their rifles and fired balls in
stead of blank cartridges. Again Corp.
Connolly might have mistaken my
orders to break right and left, get be-
hind the wagons and commence firing,
for an order to fall down. If he
changed the order, as he understood it,
! think he was the only man that fell
down and Rugged mother earth in the
center of the camp. The rest of my
command understood the order and got
to the left, right and front. and com
menced firing and by so doing saved
the command from humiliation.
II. p. GRANT.